This might be a useful & fun thread...if we could get all the BEST advice in one place...then it would be here (hopefully!) for reference.

Many of us here have to watch our $...tips that include inexpensive ways to create a wellstaged home would be great.

I'll start. The very best advice, overall, that I have received here is about accessories. Many of mine were small and didn't do much to show off the spaces where they were...yes, they were sentimental things and in "my own home" I want them there but for selling...they were not good choices.

I do have a home with tall ceilings & spacious rooms so it's even more important for me to "go big", but I've noticed in MANY homes that the accessories look too small for the spaces. I never noticed this much till becoming a member here...NOW it seems to me that this is an ANSWER for rooms I couldn't quite "get right."

I think anything that is displayed in a home for sale needs to make some kind of statement...and most of the time that means BIG.
Example: a small basket with 6 apples in it looks dinky in most places. Change that to a bigger basket with MORE apples...and you've got something.

Another example: LAMPS. I have about 8 lamps sitting in storage that are plain old too small for my rooms, for my furniture etc. I'll probably sell or donate them. Because now that I've seen the difference it makes to pay attention to the scale of the lamp, I won't go back to the little ones.

I bought 6 lamps at the thrift store...none were more than $4.99. All of them got painted.
All of them got new shades (anywhere from $5.99 to $12.) So I'd say each lamp averaged out costing less than $20 each, when you consider the lamp, shade & paint. And they made all the difference in the look of the rooms where they were placed.

Sorry to go on for so long, I need to learn to CONDENSE!

I concur, Peri! From a personal perspective, I never noticed the lamps on my nightstand until you brought it to my attention. I have now replaced the smaller one with a larger one and removed the floor lamp from that corner.

I was reading in some staging article quite awhile back--can't remember the article or author or anything--but she said if an accessory is smaller than a basketball, remove it.

Clean. Declutter. Neutralize.

Then take pictures of every room. (Remember that most buyers decide whether to see a house from looking at pictures.) If your pictures look too personal or too cluttered, repeat the three steps above.

If you can't tell whether your pictures are right or not, compare them with pictures of professionally staged rooms.

You know, I've been doing a lot of thinking on this subject and it was really difficult for me to cross over from being subjective to objective about my own property--believing I was being objective all along--but once I sort of really crossed over, I truly could see things in my own house in a different perspective.

So, my advice for staging is:

Figure out who your buyer will be, ie, large family?, single person?, young family?, retired couple?

Put your house in the most attractive state for your buyer; ie, show off your house, not your own personal stuff that you'll be taking with you anyway.

That's the most difficult and time consuming part because it entails depersonalizing, decluttering, and cleaning everything top to bottom, literally, plus the right furniture arrangements and so on.

I personally believe NEW towels in the bathrooms are a great way to go because they won't have any of your personal energy attached to them, making the buyer feel more like the bathroom is theirs, not yours. It's just an easy, inexpensive way to neutralize the bathroom, to put it another way.

In a general sense, another thing that has come to mind, brought up to me by the one sided-steep driveway that I have that people are drawn to like bees to honey, and use a reason to not buy the house, is this: don't give the buyers a reason NOT to buy your house. Make all minor repairs, etc., so that the buyers have nothing to complain about.

Anyway, that's my main two cents worth right now.

quote:

Originally posted by Charcoalsmom:
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I was reading in some staging article quite awhile back--can't remember the article or author or anything--but she said if an accessory is smaller than a basketball, remove it.

Please give me some examples for things this size on the bathroom vanities. Large Ones.
I have a floral arrangement. I can't seem to find a place for a small lamp.

quote:

Originally posted by willowpoint:


Please give me some examples for things this size on the bathroom vanities. Large Ones.
I have a floral arrangement. I can't seem to find a place for a small lamp.

Willow, how large is your vanity? Ours is 5 feet, double sinks. I keep NOTHING on the vanity except a pretty soap dispenser for liquid soap, and a good sized vase for fresh flowers or greens. (I like the liquid soap sooo much better than fooling with soap dishes & the mess they create. I get all my dispensers at TJ Maxx for about $5.99) I also have a towel stand for hand towel, but will get rid of this when we put up the towel rings I have ordered to put by each sink.

Speaking of fresh flowers: If you have cannas or hostas in your yard, try a few of the big leaves in a vase. Or get some from a friend's garden...it just takes a few leaves. I do this & have gotten quite a few comments...if I have some flowers, I might put one bloom in & then surround it with the leaves. I did this last week with lilies.

Anyway, I find that the vanity is much easier to keep clean when there is not much on top of it...I limit it to those 3 items for that reason as well as liking the "uncluttered" look. I do think that fresh flowers or a green plant is a really good addition to a bathroom.

Another cost-effective staging tip: If you use fruit for a bowl, coat the fruit with liquid wax first & let it dry. I put mine on baking racks to dry. Honestly this will keep your fruit fresh for a lonnnnng time...and won't attract the fruit flies.

I still have that platter of apples in my kitchen that was in the pictures of our house, and those pictures were taken about 3 weeks ago or more. Apples still look nice & fresh!

Willow, where do you want to place the small lamp? As for a floral arrangement on the vanity, it sounds great. How about just that, nothing else except a decorative liquid soap container, if you have one.

I can let you know what NOT to do from an experience I had several years ago. We rented a house so that my husband could take a job for 3 years. The homeowners came in from out of state approxiamtely 6 months before our lease ended. After seeing the house (they were very friendly so I showed them around)they apparently went home a decided they loved the way we had it decorated. We had antique rugs and furniture in some of the rooms. And the entire home was immaculate. After speaking to the realtor I know they realized they could have the house looking show ready without any trouble on their part. I knew that from the day they put the house on the market. The realtor contacted me and asked for an appointment time to look over the house. Only problem was that no one had told us of the owners intentions. I let the realtor come and then promptly ignored all of her suggestions because a lot of them involved cosmetic and repair fixes which were the owner's responsibility. For example I was instructed to repaint the faux finished kitchen and living room. She constantly sent repair people out to the house or gave them my unlisted number to set up a time to give estimates. She also did not like the fact that I would not allow pictures to be taken of the bedrooms, and that we removed the rugs and antiques before they had a chance to take photographs or start showings. So a list of the things not to do are leave all your junk piled in the kitchen, let a teen aged girl cover two of her room walls from floor to ceiling with teeny bopper photos, leave clothing in the laundry room (she told me to put it all away!),remove all porch and patio furniture, give the giant wooden fort system to the neighbors, keep the kitchen walls silver faux paint,tell drop in realtors they have to make an appointment, replace your furniture in some rooms with the stuff in the Salvation Army pile in the garage, give all of your potted plants to friends,and finally tell the realtor who walks into the house unexpectedly that she and her clients will have to leave and can make an appointment if they want to see the house.

quote:

Originally posted by Charcoalsmom:
Willow, where do you want to place the small lamp? .

I would not put a lamp on the vanity unless I could disguise the cord...(I'm OCD about dangling cords, lol!)

Declutter!

Make sure it's squeeky clean

Depersonalize as much as possible, especially family pictures and collections. You want them to be able to envision their Granny on the wall, not see your Granny on the wall.

No fake flowers or live dead ones either

Make the front as nice as possible

Remember: less is more

If you have pets, make sure there is no trace of them when you show...especially address any smells.

Peri & Char ,
Thanks for the advice. Our vanity is 11 ft long; two vanities and make up area.

I like things uncluttered, also. I was just thinking about the quote nothing snaller than a basketball.

I get my soap dispensers at Tuesday Morning. I had not thought of using flowers from the yard. I will use cannas next Sunday for our open house.

In one of the houses we looked at, there was a lamp on the back part of the commode. I had never seen that but it looked nice.

quote:

Originally posted by willowpoint:
Peri & Char ,
Thanks for the advice. Our vanity is 11 ft long; two vanities and make up area.

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Whoa! You might need something the size of a BEACH ball! j/k

Is there a way to put a big arrangement on the vanity so it's reflected in the mirror? That is always dramatic imo.

quote:

Originally posted by My dog:

No fake flowers or live dead ones either

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I dunno, some "live dead flowers" might be a real attention getter! lol

quote:

Originally posted by home4good:
I can let you know what NOT to do from an experience I had several years ago. .

I am a little confused...but what it SOUNDS like to me is that the homeowner was trying to "use" you...did I get that right?

I just read this hint today, so dunno whether or not it will work, I'll let y'all know.

I got some green bags for my vegetables, & when I was reading the directions, it said these bags would also keep flowers fresh! It said to put the bag over your flowers at night.

I think the fresh flowers add a LOT, but they're expensive & don't last long...it'll be wonderful if these baggies work.

Just want to talk a few minutes about safety, decorating and showings....

Lamps in the bathrooms can be dangerous if your outlets are standard and not safety outlets. You will have buyers use your bathroom including
children. Remove all medicine from the bathroom cabinets. Tuck it away in a secure place.

On a decorative note...I like to see a couple of hand towels displayed on the vanity, decorative soaps on a nice clear container (not for use) for display only.

Make sure if you have any rugs they are rubberback - or have a pad under for non-slip.
When the Realtor is showing your home, people may not wear rubber soles that day - we all have had a pair of those shoes where we almost slip. Just food for thought.

I always am concerned about my clients walking up and down stairs and remind them to hold the railing and I have a tendency to be in front of them coming down and last going up..just in case. I would probably be a pancake if somebody fell on me - but the last thing my seller needs is an insurance claim. If I can break someone's fall, I will...and have if they miss a step - like kids!

I always have the seller put a note on the slider for the buyer to hold their childrens' hand when going out to the pool area. (In case I am not at the showing and another realtor is showing.) I did have a crazy client jump into the pool because he was overheated from the tour, and a kid who jumped into a lake off a ramp..which I was soon to follow the dive. Then her mother tells me she loves the water, and I am wondering what is stuck in the new "Bali".

Back to the decorating -if there are things you ca not change nor want to--- color of cabinets, fireplace, floor - work with variations of those tones in your decor. It will have bring your decor together.

If you look at your dining area, and it just doesn't sit right with you..and looks off kilter, could be the dining table is not under the lighting..and it would be best to rectify that somehow...maybe with a swag.

Some of my sellers write a few reminders in a nice hand written letter displayed on the kitchen counter.. I provide the stand-up clear plexiglass frame. Kinda .. welcome to our home...please enjoy your tour...then a few "gentle "reminders.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: real estate lady,

This staging stuff has gotten out of hand and turned into a decorating competition. Home buyers are not as stupid as HGTV presents them. And I hear all the time on here that a staged home sells faster but there is not proof of that. It is foolish to spend money on things that you do not really like just on the possibility that someone else might like it. Okay, I am now off my soap box

After cleaning take digital px of each room from each angle and put them on the computer. Without enlarging them take a serious look. Does the room look clean and neat? Does it look as big as it really is? Is it dark? I found that by moving a chair over just 6" it made the room look much bigger. That one thing on the wall was eyecatching... not a good thing when you want them to see the room. If you can not be objective about your own house show them to a friend and ask what their first impressions are.

But mostly clean, clean, clean and declutter and that includes all those small collections that you really don't even notice anymore.

I agree, however a boring room can take a different spin with just a few items... even a few things from friends or a thrift shop. Doesn't mean..necessarily your taste .. but selective decorative items can stamp the final compliment of the room.

I agree - moving things including furniture away from walls or at a angle - or even a few inches can perfect the look.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: real estate lady,

quote:

Originally posted by timtam:
Clean. Declutter. Neutralize.

Then take pictures of every room. (Remember that most buyers decide whether to see a house from looking at pictures.) If your pictures look too personal or too cluttered, repeat the three steps above.

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YES! Great idea on the pictures...I did this. Seems like things will jump out at me in pictures that I don't notice when just looking at the room.

Another thing on pictures: and I notice this from looking at literally hundreds on the different MLS listings...if your pics turn out dark, DO something about them right away. In fact, INSIST that your Realtor show YOU the pictures online BEFORE they are posted to the MLS. If they're dark they need to be edited or reshot. Needless to say if the dark picture is reflective of your room, then you need to do something to lighten up the room itself.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: PeriParker,

quote:

Originally posted by real estate lady:
Just want to talk a few minutes about safety, decorating and showings....
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Excellent advice as always, REL. And thank you for the safety reminders...

(One of these days you need to write a book about your experiences, they're fascinating to hear!)

I remember us discussing this on another thread: the idea of leaving refreshments/drinks when our houses are being shown, or for an OPen House.

Some thought this is "overkill", or that it might make the seller look "desperate."

I couldn't decide...

But anyway, when we had our OPen House I intended to at least leave a tub of iced down bottled water, but ran out of time. Our visitors found the little basket of Hershey's truffles I had by the computer, lol.

The next time the house was shown (we had two showings scheduled in one afternoon)...I left a big glass bowl with 10 bottled waters, and a tray of assorted candies. EIGHT of the waters were taken & candy was taken as well...so I am thinking it is a great idea to do this.

My thought was...we want ppl to linger in our houses...and if they're thirsty/hungry they're not as likely to do that!

We made cookies for our first Open House. Only one person ate one. I don't remember what we did, if anything, for the second Open House but I did leave granola bars and a pitcher of iced cold water in the sunroom (so they could sit, munch, and gaze at the beautiful view) for some showings and the interested buyers we had actually took some granola bars and had water both times. So be it, they didn't go forward with their interest and no one has come to see the house since.

My daughter is a Paris-trained, professional pastry chef & made a huge, fabulous spread for a Realtors' Open. Almost nobody showed up. We ate elegant desserts for a long time afterwards.